


And the next Captain America is...

by PerplexinglyParadoxialPerson



Series: The stories of the Captain America needs a hug hashtag [13]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Captain America Sam Wilson, Gen, Interviews, M/M, POV Outsider, Podfic Welcome, Social Media, Steve is also bad at flirting, Steve tells bad jokes, Transformative Works Welcome, Troll Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28035813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerplexinglyParadoxialPerson/pseuds/PerplexinglyParadoxialPerson
Summary: So sorry for the delay, but my brain simply wasn’t letting me write last week! I hope you like it anyway!Edit:I’m sorry but I completely forgot, this oneshot was inspired by a comment by michellelove1 many months ago, who asked me to write about how Sam became Captain America! Hope you like it!
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson
Series: The stories of the Captain America needs a hug hashtag [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1466758
Comments: 3
Kudos: 48





	And the next Captain America is...

**Author's Note:**

> So sorry for the delay, but my brain simply wasn’t letting me write last week! I hope you like it anyway!
> 
> Edit:I’m sorry but I completely forgot, this oneshot was inspired by a comment by michellelove1 many months ago, who asked me to write about how Sam became Captain America! Hope you like it!

Lamonte was excited to see that he was home in time to watch the interview with Steve and Bucky live. It was good to know that they were at least well enough to do an interview, even if they were still in rough shape, like it was implied by their reaction to the questions on the hashtag. 

But, as he sat on the couch and turned the channel to the interview, he saw that Steve and Bucky looked surprisingly awful. They both had dark bags under their eyes, with Steve’s looking like whole suitcases instead of mere bags. They were leaning heavily into each other, and their held hands resting on the couch were white at the knuckles, holding on tight to each other. Their pristine nice-casual clothes, and the nice set and couch they were on only made them look more ragged and exhausted. 

“Hello everyone and welcome to the show,” the interviewer said brightly. “Here we have Captain America and the White Wolf! I’m honoured to have you here, especially so soon after the alien attack! It looks like you could have used another day or two to recover though.” 

“You’re not wrong,” Steve said, voice slightly rough. “With all the reassurance and help we’ve been doing in the last few days, I almost want to climb into a chunk of ice just to get some proper sleep!” 

“And you’re still going,” the interviewer said warmly. “Let’s all give a round of applause for our heroes!” 

The studio audience roared with applause and whistles, which seemed to make Steve and Bucky flinch a bit, Lamonte flinching along with them when he remembered the post about them having enhanced senses. 

It took quite a while for the noise to die down, but when it did, the interviewer said, “now, you two are here to make a bit of an announcement right?” 

“Yeah,” Steve said. “I wanted to announce that I will be retiring from being Captain America and passing on the mantle to someone else.” 

There was a moment of silence where Lamonte wasn’t sure if he had actually heard it, then the studio audience started murmuring in surprise. It made a certain kind of sense though, even the minimal things that Steve and Bucky had posted lately they had... almost sounded tired. They both looked worn thin, they definitely deserved a rest. 

“And what triggered this decision?” the interviewer asked. 

“It was kind of because of the battle,” Steve said quietly. “But honestly, it’s been brewing for quite a while, and the battle, and it’s aftermath was just... the last straw. I’m tired.” 

“We’re both tired,” Bucky said with a sad smile. 

“I won’t be completely disappearing from the Avengers roster,” Steve said, posture straightening. “If there’s another world ending thing I’ll help, and I might go on a few smaller missions once in a while, but not as Captain America anymore.” 

“I probably won’t be taking many more missions either,” Bucky said. “Honestly, a lot of the reason I went on missions after everything was to keep Steve safe, because he’s still ridiculously bad at guarding his back. The other Avengers do a pretty decent job, but no one can cover Steve’s back like me, the person who’s been hauling him out of fights since we were small.” 

“And who is the person you will be passing the mantle onto?” The interviewer asked. 

“Someone you should probably all know,” Steve said, dragging it out with a small grin. “I’ll be passing on the mantle of Captain America... to Sam Wilson, also known as the Falcon!” 

There was a huge round of applause as Sam walked onto the stage, and Lamonte gasped in awe. A black person, someone like him was going to be Captain America, a bastion of respectability and honour. If this was real... wow. 

Sam sat next to Steve on the couch, looking tired, but not nearly as bad as Steve, and grinning widely. 

“Welcome Sam,” the interviewer said brightly. “Or should I say, Captain America. We do know a decent amount about your history before the Hydra reveal, but I have to ask, how did a relatively normal vet that worked at the VA become a trusted agent?” 

“Despite what you may think,” Steve said sheepishly. “It wasn’t because of an interview or anything like that. I met him on my morning run.” 

“While being a massive punk,” Sam said. “So, I was on a completely ordinary run when this asshole ran past me like he was being chased, saying on your left. I thought nothing of it, but then it happened again... and again...” 

The crowd started to snicker, watching him get more and more agitated. 

“And then I tried to run after him,” he said wryly. 

Lamonte laughed a bit, having seen a video of Steve’s average running speed compared to a normal human running full tilt. You couldn’t even compare them properly. 

“So he eventually took pity on me and stopped to talk with me. Apparently running people to the ground is how he flirts with them.” 

“He’s always been bad at flirting,” Bucky said, leaning back into the couch. “He flirted with me by getting into fights then letting me help with his inevitable injuries. And with Peggy—“ 

“You wouldn’t,” Steve said, eyes wide with dramatic horror. “You’re my best guy, you aren’t allowed to betray me like that!” 

“With Peggy,” Bucky said, louder than before, batting Steve’s hands away from where they were trying to cover his mouth. “They were in the car on the way to the place where Steve got the serum, and he basically took Peggy on an audio tour of all the places he had gotten beaten up!” 

Steve groaned and hid his face in his hands, his visible ears turning bright red. 

“I got that story from Peggy herself,” Bucky said affectionately. “Along with a whole host of other stories about Steve being reckless during training. Peggy was always the best at telling stories about Steve’s shenanigans, I was always too worried about him to tell them without being way too exasperated.” 

“Can we please move on?” Steve groaned into his hands. 

“I’ll take pity on you,” Sam said, patting his shoulder, “for being awful at flirting.” 

Steve groaned again. 

“Anyway, so we chatted for a bit, I invited him to the VA, and figured I’d see him there, or maybe on another run. Then the news exploded with news of Steve being a fugitive and on the run. I definitely didn’t believe it, and the next morning, I opened the door to Steve and Natasha, looking incredibly beat up and requesting a place to stay at for a bit. That’s how I ended up helping them take down Hydra.” 

“Wow,” the interviewer said, looking awed. “That was... an incredibly weird way of being brought into the fold. So you two had only met once before and Steve decided to trust you with something like that?” 

“I’ve always had pretty good instincts when it came to who to trust,” Steve said. “I had to be good at that when letting on you liked guys back then could get you killed, and the serum only enhanced it. That instinct has yet to be wrong, and as an example, the STRIKE team that I worked with, all Hydra agents, gave me a bad feeling. Sam seemed trustworthy, and we desperately needed a place to stay, so I took a risk that more than payed off.” 

“That must have been quite the surprise!” She said brightly. 

“It definitely was,” Sam said quietly. “Even for them, they had no clue that I had been a user of the exo-7 falcon suit, so it was a great thing on both sides!” 

“Why did you choose Sam to be Captain America?” The interviewer asked Steve. “Why not Bucky, or maybe someone else?” 

“I was never even considered as an option,” Bucky said. “I would never want it, and I want to semi-retire too!” 

“But I chose Sam,” Steve said, “not only because he’s a fantastic and trusted friend who can definitely take the weight of the Captain America mantle, but for a lot of other reasons. For one, as Sam himself once said, “I do anything he does, just slower,” and the only reason that he’s slower is because he doesn’t have the serum! He’s seen through firsthand experience exactly what people expect of Captain America, exactly what the job consists of, and for whatever reason he’s decided to take the job anyway. He has a fantastic moral compass and is a fantastic strategist, incredibly smart and skilled. That’s not even mentioning how quickly he picked up on the shield throwing!” 

“I’m not nearly as good as Steve,” Sam said. “And it’s a lot more complicated in the air, but I’ve got the basics down at least.” 

“He’s honestly the only one I’ve ever considered for the job,” Steve said. “He may be second place in terms of being Captain America, but he’s first place in our hearts.” 

“That’s sweet man,” Sam said, “thanks.” 

“Not first place in my heart,” Bucky said. “That spot’s already taken by the first Captain America, but you’re cool I guess.” 

Sam groaned in frustration, rolling his eyes dramatically and throwing his hands up in frustration. 

“I have to ask,” the interviewer said, “in Steve’s first interview, he said something about coming out to you with a joke. Now that we’ve seen the extent of how hilarious his jokes can be, I have to know what he said!” 

“Don’t encourage him,” Sam groaned. “But we were going out to find Bucky, and at that point we had no clue whether Bucky was going to attack us or not, so I said something about Steve having to think straight around Bucky. Then he said something about never being able to think straight when Bucky was around. At first I thought it was just him being serious, saying that he knew he was compromised... then I looked over at him and saw a look on his face like the cat that got the canary. I just about facepalmed when I realized what he meant.” 

“More like the Cap that got the Falcon,” Steve said with a wicked grin. 

Lamonte laughed in surprise, glad that Steve was looking happier. 

“Best strategic mind in this century and he uses it to make awful jokes!” Sam groaned, looking at the sky like he was looking for answers. 

“You love me though,” Steve pouted. 

“Unfortunately,” Sam sighed. 

“And it looks like we’re about out of time,” the interviewer said. “I truly wish we could go on longer, there is so much more to know about this transition, but the three of you are harder to herd back on topic than Tony Stark!” 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Steve said with a grin, looking ten times better than he had at the beginning of the interview, despite him still holding onto Bucky with white knuckles. 

“Before we go though, I have to thank the incredible hashtag that has supported me through this whole thing, keeping me in the loop, giving constant encouragement and support, and seeing the me behind Captain America. I truly can’t thank you enough for all the support and love you’ve given me through the years, I simply don’t have the words. But still, thank you again for everything you’ve done for me and Bucky, and thank you for the support. Bye!” 

“Goodbye!” Bucky and Sam chorused as the screen went black, then went to a commercial. 

Lamonte turned off the TV, still not quite believing what he had seen. A black Captain America would never be what he had expected, the thought of Steve retiring inconceivable, but... Steve had looked exhausted, worn thin. No wonder he was retiring.

**Author's Note:**

> So you know what Steve said about how much he loves the support the hashtag has given him? That was me, giving all my readers my love using Steve. We are so incredibly close to being done this story, the latest chapter is up, then one more chapter to go, and then a special chapter at the end. I truly love you guys and your support truly keeps me going, I appreciate every single one of your subscriptions, kudos, comments, bookmarks and everything else! 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗


End file.
